


AI [heart] U

by Kitahara_Rei



Category: Uta no Prince-sama
Genre: Ai discovering the world of romance via shoujo manga, Crossdressing, Locked In A Small Room Together, M/M, Romantic Comedy, Stalking a Date, Swearing, Syo gets roped into helping Ai, it doesn't get better than that
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-05
Updated: 2019-11-19
Packaged: 2021-01-23 15:24:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21322396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kitahara_Rei/pseuds/Kitahara_Rei
Summary: Reading romance novels wasn't getting him anywhere in understanding love. Ai decided to ask some people for help, and maybe people-watch a little.
Relationships: Hijirikawa Masato/Jinguuji Ren, Ichinose Tokiya/Ittoki Otoya, Kurosaki Ranmaru & Camus, Kurusu Shou | Kurusu Syo/Mikaze Ai, more will be updated
Comments: 6
Kudos: 46





	1. Enemies to Lovers

**Author's Note:**

> Eyy it's me back again with another fic! This time there isn't a lot of plot, but I hope you'll enjoy this little thing!

_"I've always hated you since the day I've met you."_

_"Likewise." Without missing a beat, they were locked in a passionate dance of their lips and tongues. Hands were fisted in hair, arms were tangled around each other, fueled by their burning desire for the other._

This was a strange new concept of romance that he discovered recently. How did two people who supposedly hate each other end up making out? Ai couldn't quite figure out what had been going on in the relationship throughout the whole trashy romance novel, but it had been research material on understanding the human heart that he purchased one late night. The book had been on the best-selling list, but he had an inkling that most books had that printed on the cover anyway.

"...bastard!"

It was hard to concentrate on his book when there was loud arguing going on behind him, even with his headphones cancelling out most of the noise. Ai closed his novel, turning around to assess the situation behind him.

Ranmaru had grabbed Camus' shirt and was snarling in his face, griping about something again. Looking at where the rocker was pointing at aggressively, Ai assumed that Camus had moved his precious bass from where it had been leaning against the couch. Ranmaru was always particular about other people touching his things. He pulled off his headphones, their loud voices piercing his ears through the surrounding background noise.

"I told you not to touch it!"

"Hmph, if you hadn't put it there, I wouldn't find the need to move it."

Unfortunately, their peacemaker, Reiji, wasn't home to stop them. He was working the whole day and wouldn't be home until later tonight. Ai crossed his arms, sighing. When would they stop bickering like children? He thought that they had gotten along better since their last group recording of _KIZUNA_, but apparently, all that didn't matter now when it came down to this little matter.

Ai had learned quickly after living together that some things were out of bounds. Not that he had any interest in bananas or sweets in particular, neither in their musical instruments.

But Ai was curious. Just like the main characters in the novel, they never got along or saw eye to eye. Strong feelings of love were bound to develop from hate, since he did read from somewhere that the opposite of love was indifference. Thoughts of the other would constantly plague their minds, despite griping about the other constantly. Was it possible that the two had something blossoming between them, which would have led to...?

He could see that Ranmaru was this close to socking Camus in the face and Camus shared the same sentiment. Ai guessed that since Reiji wasn't around, he would have to break up the fight. As much as it was a rare opportunity to let the two's argument continue, Ai didn't want to have to explain to Reiji why both of their faces (and possibly their shared home in the penthouse) were messed up in a fistfight.

"Come on, you two, that's enough."

Two pairs of eyes slid over to him in unison. The first to step back was Ranmaru, letting out a '_tch_' under his breath, retreating to the living room. Camus casted his icy gaze on Ranmaru before checking the time on his phone, sliding it back into his pocket. Without another word, he left the house, closing the door behind him.

"Damn prick..." Ranmaru muttered under his breath. His odd-coloured eyes snapped to Ai when the younger sat down next to him, looking at him expectantly. "What do you want?"

"If I may ask, do you hold secret feelings of love for Camus? Is that why you two always argue a lot?"

It was interesting to watch Ranmaru's expression morph from confusion to digust in a matter of seconds. He looked as if he had just eaten the world's most sour lemon. Ranmaru detested lemons with a burning passion that could rival the sun.

"Where the hell did you get that ludicrous idea from?!"

Ai held up his book. "Recently, I was doing some research on this popular romance trope about 'enemies to lovers', and I couldn't help but notice that both you and Camus fall within the requirements. I have heard you complaining to Reiji about Camus the other day, and both of you argue over every little thing. Doesn't that mean that he is constantly on your mind, so you'll pick a fight with him to find some way of conversation-"

"Fuck no!" Ranmaru looked utterly offended at the idea. Grabbing the book from Ai's hands, he turned it around to read the summary on the back. His lips moved as he read it, then he thrust it back into Ai's hands. "Don't fall for this kind of romantic bullshit. It doesn't work this way in real life."

With a frown, Ai looked down at his novel. He agreed with Ranmaru; this was a little unrealistic for his tastes, but there had been rave reviews online. "I was hoping to be able to observe a real-life example," he explained. "To help me understand more on the human emotion of love for my upcoming drama series."

"You have a prime example of someone who does that," Ranmaru said. He looked embarrassed to say the next few words. "Like the '_fuwa fuwa'_ kind."

Fuwa fuwa? One quick search through Google told him it meant 'fluffy' and 'soft'. He thought back to the people he knew. "Natsuki?"

"Bingo. Now go do your research somewhere else. Don't ever bring this up with me again."

\-----

Ai wasn't quite sure if Ranmaru was just in denial ("Not only a river in Egypt", Reiji's voice in his head helpfully supplied) or he really didn't carry feelings for Camus. It was confusing, to say the least. Feelings were complex.

The bespectacled blond was only glad to help out his troubled senior after releasing him from a crushing hug upon meeting. He pulled out a few red and white books from the shelves behind him, showing them to Ai. There were diagrams of a cutely-drawn high school girl as well as a high school boy holding hands on the cover. "Shoujo manga?" he asked, cocking his head curiously to the side as he flipped through the pages. The artwork was pleasing to the eyes, though there was a lot of soft-looking patterns printed on the pages leading up to what he supposed was the big confession scene. "I don't see how this will let me understand more about love. Isn't it all fantasy?"

"This is ridiculous," Syo said with a sigh as he entered the room with a tray of drinks. "Natsuki, that's fiction for girls. You can't learn anything good from shoujo manga."

"Eh? Not only girls enjoy shoujo manga." He turned back to Ai. "This is my favourite series. It has sweet plotline and the heroine is really cute. Just like you, Syo-chan!"

Syo pulled at his hair in frustration, letting out a yell of, "I'm not cute, dammit!"

Ignoring their one-sided argument, he flipped through the pages. There were written sound effects like _'kira'_ and _'doki'_, but he couldn't quite grasp what they were supposed to represent. Generally, _'kira'_ would be sparkly, but _'doki'_...?

"That's the sound that your heart makes when you're in love!"

Natsuki was hovering over him, seeing the word that he had pointed out on the page. There the heroine was, clutching at her heart, as she looked on over at her crush. "Not _'badum'_?" Ai asked.

"Well, it's cuter this way. You feel the _'doki doki'_ in your chest when you see the person you like. The gentle warmth you feel when he looks at you, the cuteness when they blush... You'll have to read through it more to understand it better."

"Gentle warmth...?" Ai felt his own cold chest. There was the artificial thumping of his steel heart under the layers of mechanism, but he didn't understand how emotions would cause his natural rhythm to go awry. He might have felt something for Haruka before, but it eventually faded as she spent less time with them and more on her own work.

Syo cleared his throat, "Anyway, there's a perfect example of a loving couple at the agency, isn't there?" When Ai looked at him blankly, Syo continued, face tinged with the slightest hue of red, "Tokiya and Otoya are dating, aren't they?"

Were they? Ai couldn't recall anything like that happening. Neither had they mentioned anything of the sort when he met them last. "They are?"

Both Natsuki and Syo blinked at him with surprise. "They definitely are!" Syo insisted. "I saw them talking the other day, and Tokiya was laughing. Laughing! How often do you see him do that?"

"I might have seen them kiss," Natsuki said thoughtfully. "But Otoya-kun told me not to tell anyone." The look that Syo gave him was almost comical, if not for Ai's attention mostly on the subject at hand.

If what they said was true, then Ai would have to dedicate an entire day of watching them... for research. He stood up to leave, but Natsuki grabbed his arm to stop him with a smile on his face. "Ai-chan, leaving already? You haven't had a chance to try out my newest batch of cookies!"

Looking at the expression on Syo's face at the proposal, Ai had a feeling that he was going to have to go through a reboot in the near future.


	2. Friends to Lovers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ai and Syo stalks Tokiya and Otoya on their date.

Syo had joined him on his personal mission to escape Natsuki's disastrous taste-testing session. As much as Ai liked to try something unique, there were some things that even his artificial stomach couldn't handle. Natsuki truly could confound his processing unit.

They were seated at a nearby café opposite of the aquarium. It had a good view of the entrance through the hedge, a good spot for reconnaissance. Syo had his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose, his eyes squeezed shut. "Let me get this straight, we're out here to spy on their date..."

"Not spying," Ai corrected. "People watching."

"So, why are you dressed like a girl?!"

It was mostly Natsuki's idea. Ai had on a simple white summer dress along with a long brown wig, though he retained his bright blue eyes. Natsuki had readily agreed to help him on his quest, helping Ai to pick an outfit and doing his makeup. When he had looked at himself in the mirror, he was satisfied with the results. His eyelashes had never looked this long.

"Would you prefer to be the one to wear the dress?" he asked, tucking the lock of wig hair behind his ear.

"Hell no!"

"Then I see no problem. Unfortunately, my hair colour is easily recognisable in a crowd. My current understanding is that you don't enjoy wearing dresses."

"Well, yeah! But you don't feel embarrassed wearing that when you're a man?"

"Not really. It's a change from the usual, but nothing too much in particular." Syo spluttered something unintelligible and turned away, face red.

Returning his attention to the main entrance, he spotted a redhead running towards a more discreet-looking man in plain clothes. Definitely the two he was looking for. Ai stood up, adjusting his sunglasses on his head. "They're headed in. Let's go."

It wasn't too hard to track them in the crowd as they entered the aquarium, considering that Otoya had bright flaming-red hair and the cap he wore did nothing to hide that fact. But surprisingly, no one else seemed to recognise them out on the streets in casual wear, even with their faces displayed on a nearby advertisement board.

Ai had figured out that they were out on a date when there was a suspicious blank in the afternoon for both their schedules as he heard from his informant. A bit of detective work later had resulted him in finding out that they were going to the local aquarium.

Well, Reiji had been talking about it over dinner. He usually tuned out the brunet's chatter when it contained unnecessary information, but one mention of 'Tokki' and 'Otoyan' had him interested. He gathered from the overly detailed rant that Otoya had won a pair of tickets from the recent gameshow he participated in and he invited Tokiya to the aquarium without him. He ignored Reiji complaining about being lonely, noting down the bits and pieces of information for later.

Which was how they found themselves at least ten metres away from the main couple, trying to blend in with the sparse crowd. Otoya had been blissfully unaware of them, but occasionally, Tokiya would look around with a sharp-eyed stare, sweeping the crowd with his gaze. Ai had never been more thankful for Syo being short enough to be hidden easily.

"They aren't holding hands," Ai mused, comparing them to the other couples around. "Don't couples usually hold hands when they walk together?"

"STARISH is well-known, after all. We have to be careful about how we are out in public. Imagine our fans' reaction when they find out that Tokiya and Otoya are dating." Syo had stopped to look at a nearby tank, awed by the colourful tropical fish. "Knowing Tokiya, he would be really particular about keeping their relationship hidden."

Even with the careful way that Tokiya led his boyfriend around, Otoya soon took over with his childish joy, pulling Tokiya with him when something caught his attention. It was the way he smiled brightly that even the dim lighting of the aquarium couldn't hide. He really looked like he was enjoying himself.

Maybe it was the look that Tokiya gave Otoya as he pointed at the fish in the tank that reminded him of a particular scene. There would have been airbrushed clouds of texture in the background with accompanying sparkles if it followed the laws of shoujo manga, along with the perfectly-aligned placement of the fish behind them as they shared a ki-

"Ai, they're coming over this way!"

He had been far too occupied by his thoughts that he hadn't realised that the two were walking in their direction. Syo was looking around frantically for a hiding spot, though they were in the middle of a corridor with nowhere and nothing to hide them. Syo mumbled an apology before pulling Ai into his arms so that he was facing away from the approaching couple. It was sudden, but not...unwelcome.

"Syo! What a surprise to see you here! Who is that with you?" Otoya's voice was filled with curiosity. Ai took a peek over his shoulder, hiding his face with the wig. "Your girlfriend?"

"Otoya! Don't be nosy," Tokiya scolded, holding Otoya back with a hand on his shoulder. "Keep your voice down."

"Uh, yeah! Aoi-chan's a little shy around others," Syo explained. He leaned in with a whisper to the other two, but Ai could completely hear it all. "She doesn't know about the idol business, so try not to mention it around her, all right?" An unlikely story, considering how famous STARISH was and still is.

Now it was time to showcase his acting prowess. Ai set his voice box to a higher pitch than usual, pulling on a shy act. "Hi," he greeted, clinging onto Syo's arm. The blond tensed from the sudden touch but quickly relaxed. "I'm Aoi."

"Ah, Aoi-chan, it's nice to meet you at last! We're Syo's friends," Otoya introduced. "So, how long have you two been dating? Syo might have mentioned about you a few times."

Ai glanced over at Syo, who was scratching at his chin. He had no qualms about telling them about his mission should it come to that, but Syo was the one trying to spin this story. Ai decided to watch how it unfolded.

"About two months ago. We met outside, got to know each other a little, then we ended up going out." That was the vaguest story that he had ever heard. Tokiya seemed to agree, though Otoya was eating it up, his eyes shining. The redhead looked like he wanted to demand more details.

Tokiya cleared his throat. "Syo, it was nice meeting you here. I'll leave you to your...date," he said, throwing Ai a suspicious look. "Otoya, let's go."

"Eh, but Tokiya... Wait for me!"

When they were out of earshot, Ai turned to Syo. "You have a girlfriend? I feel bad for roping you into this," he said. "Send my apologies to the actual Aoi-chan."

"You've got it all wrong," Syo explained, waving his hands in denial, face red. "They've been hounding me about having a girlfriend for so long, so I just lied to them about having one."

"So you're not dating anyone."

"No, I'm not. Against the rules, remember?"

But despite that, Tokiya and Otoya were going out. Ai had heard how they hadn't really gotten along in the beginning, but from what he saw today, he had to agree that they're past that stage. An excellent example of how they went from rivals to friends, then eventually to lovers.

Syo was looking over at him with worry in his blue eyes, unsure of what to say. It was then Ai realised that he hadn't said anything in five minutes. He turned to Syo. "I think they went to look at the jellyfish exhibit."

It was dark in there with no one else around but the two. Thankfully, it was a winding corridor with an area for the two of them to hide. Ai was fascinated with the glowing jellyfish floating around in their small tanks, mesmerised by their apparent softness. He wanted to know what it felt like to touch them.

But his attention was quickly diverted to where Tokiya and Otoya were holding hands, with Otoya leaning against Tokiya's shoulder. Their faces were glowing blue from the light of the tanks as they turned to face each other, sharing tender smiles. Ai was too far away to hear what they were saying, but Otoya only laughed before leaning in to kiss Tokiya.

Ai looked away, feeling that he was intruding in a private moment. "Syo, let's go," he said, much to the blond's surprise. "I've gathered enough data for today."

There was a strange feeling in his chest from watching them, though he couldn't identify what it was. Perhaps there was a bug in his system that he would need to check on.


	3. Love Rivals? Or Trapped In A Small Space?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ai decides to continue his research, this time into getting a couple together. He ends up saving(?) a relationship.

The information gathered from that day was bountiful. Now he knew how a couple acted after dating a while (what Natsuki dubbed as the Honeymoon Phase), but Ai had no clue on how romance developed. He needed another example to observe. According to the reference material, it would most likely develop between two people who had chemistry between them, be it good or bad. Strong chemistry.

Just waiting around for romance to develop would have taken too long (he noticed that shoujo manga tend to drag over several volumes), so he decided to take action. But there wasn't just a couple sitting around ready to be made.

He had just finished a photoshoot with Syo and Natsuki at Shining Studios. They were in the middle of deciding where to go for lunch when they heard a loud thump followed by shouting down the hallway belonging to a person that Ai had never heard raise his voice before.

"Do whatever you want!"

A blur of motion came around the corner. Masato was in a rage, one that Ai had rarely seen in the man before. They bumped shoulders, with Masato pausing briefly to apologise before hurrying on. It was concerning to see the man's eyes shining with unshed tears. He usually was so put together and rarely did Ai see him with his emotions bursting forth like that. Natsuki covered his mouth in surprise before gesturing to Masato and giving chase, leaving the two in the hallway.

Syo was already making his way into the room that Masato had just left. Ai followed soon after, seeing Ren sitting at the table, his head in his hands. Ah, another argument. He remembered the days back when Ranmaru would complain about the two, wondering when they would kiss and make up already. He hadn't known what the older man had meant at that time, but now shoujo manga had enlightened him.

But Ai had heard from Natsuki that they were getting along better since working together as STARISH. What happened?

"What did you do this time, Ren?" Syo asked, crouching down to pick up the fallen item on the ground, a delicately-wrapped glass bottle, cracked in one side. From what he could observe, Ai guessed that it was from more than just a fan.

Ren let out a dry laugh, the sound of a man who was defeated. "I don't know. Maybe I teased him a little too much?"

"He looked really upset when he left," Ai said. There was a light scent of perfume in the air that came from it. The bottle must have cracked from the impact of being thrown onto the ground. He ran the smell through his internal database. "This is Paron Coivre," he stated, watching Syo's eyes widen. "An expensive gift from a lady acquaintance?"

"You know your stuff, Aimi. It was the end of the modelling project and she wanted to thank me for my help," Ren said. "She mentioned that she was a fan too. I didn't know it was something like that inside."

"I see. It's just all a misunderstanding, right? If you just explained it all to Masato, I'm sure he'll understand." Syo said, patting Ren on the back.

Ren ran a hand through his long hair, shaking his head. "You've seen how he reacted by just looking at this," he said, gesturing at the gift. "He's not in the mood to listen to my 'excuses'. Not when he thinks I'm playing around with other women."

With Ren in a such terrible mood, it seemed like he wouldn't be joining Ai in his online gaming tonight. There was a knock on the door, and Natsuki entered. Ren let out a laugh. "Does everyone know that we're arguing again? I guess it's nothing new," he muttered under his breath, standing up. "Sorry, guys, but I need some time alone for now."

He left the room.

Natsuki was the first to speak up. "I talked with Masato-kun. He didn't tell me most of the details, but from what he told me, there was this lady that showed interest in Ren." When Syo showed him the box, he nodded. "I guess that's why he was so upset. He's jealous. I would be too, if someone I liked gave his attention to someone else. A love rival, if you will."

The thought of Satsuki making an appearance made Ai wrinkle his nose. If there was someone that Natsuki liked, he would make sure to investigate them thoroughly, lest they break his heart (and they would get their bones broken by Satsuki, probably).

But love rivals... They often complicated matters in shoujo manga, and the miscommunication between the main couple would create a greater rift in their relationship. He smacked his fist in his palm in understanding. So this was what happened to Ren and Masato. All they needed now to mend their relationship was to talk to each other, to clear up any doubts in the air.

He brought up the idea with the other two, receiving mixed reactions. Natsuki clearly approved of the plan, but Syo was more worried. "It's easier said than done. And considering how stubborn they are..."

"Come on, Syo-chan. How long can they avoid talking to each other?"

\-----

As it turned out, the answer was: very long.

It was painful to watch STARISH's latest performance as Ren tried to bring up conversation with Masato, only to get a curt one-word reply. The man was still not talking to Ren, to which the other members of their group noticed. Even the QUARTET NIGHT members could tell.

"What's going on with them?" Ranmaru asked, taking a gulp from his water bottle. "They're worse than usual."

QUARTET NIGHT was back in the dressing room, watching the stage from the small screen. "They went into an argument the other day. A misunderstanding of sorts," Ai said. It wasn't his place to tell him the details of what happened. Not that he knew what was going on between them. "I thought they would have made up by now."

Ranmaru scoffed. "They're both stubborn kids," he said, earning himself a raised brow from Reiji. "Just lock them in a room together. There's no way they won't talk."

"Of course, only you would think of such a savage method to resolve relationship differences." Before Ranmaru could interrupt him, Camus continued, "But I have to agree with the Dandelion Head. With no way of escape, they will have to face their problems."

"Hey, no fighting," Reiji said, yanking Ranmaru's shirt back before he could lunge at Camus. Curious silver eyes turned to him. "Ai-Ai, I heard that you were there when it happened." He looked ready to listen to the details, but Ai had promised Syo not to tell anyone else. Ai shook his head.

"I'm afraid I don't know much," he half-lied. Reiji pouted with disappointment, sinking back into the couch.

The phone in his pocket buzzed. Ai glanced at the screen before excusing himself from the room, picking up the call once he was outside. "Syo, what's wrong?" he asked.

_"This is just getting ridiculous now. For their sake, for STARISH's sake, we have to help them out."_ He sounded frustrated. Ai would have been too, if two of their group refused to talk to the other._ "Any ideas on where to begin?"_

"Let's meet up. I think I have one."

They found themselves in a rarely-used washroom in the building, crouched by the sink. Anyone who walked in would suspect them of, well, suspicious activity. It looked like some sort of illegal meeting between the two. "So, what's this brilliant idea of yours?" Syo asked, glancing to the door warily, as if someone would walk in at any moment.

"We'll lock them in a room so they have no choice but to talk about their feelings," Ai replied with a completely deadpan expression.

"You're kidding."

"If Ranmaru and Camus agreed that it's the only way, I don't see why it won't work. According to the laws of shoujo manga, it gives them the ideal situation with no distractions to communicate freely without interruption by anyone else."

"Just, no. Real life works differently. Also, didn't Reiji-sempai try that once with them?"

Ai remembered that. It didn't end well for any of them involved, considering a door had been broken down by a horse, no less. It wasn't like they had any trouble sharing their thoughts with the other, though. Sometimes, they shared a bit too much under their breath, which escalated into yet another argument.

"We won't know if we won't try. Where are they now?"

"Masato's in the dressing room. I don't know where Ren is, though. He left as soon as the show ended."

"All right. We'll use the dressing room." Ai had already sent a message out to Ren to meet him in said place. "I've texted Ren. He should be there in approximately ten minutes. I'll let Natsuki know to clear the room."

The people walking around the corridors gave them strange looks for crouching around the corner, watching the doorway to the STARISH dressing room. Natsuki had cleared the room as promised, leading the others away to 'give Masato-kun some personal space'.

"Here he comes," Syo whispered, tugging Ai backwards into hiding.

Ren was looking down at his phone, frowning, as he pushed his way into the room. Once the door closed behind him, Ai rushed forward, holding it in place. It seemed like Ren discovered his ploy at once, the doorknob attempting to turn in his grip, but Ai held strong, refusing to budge. At some point, it went still as Ren gave up with a sigh.

Pressing his ear against the door, Ai held his breath, trying to hear the conversation in the room. Their voices were muffled, making it hard to hear anything going on. He hadn't anticipated this. Syo joined him soon after.

They looked like a couple of fools standing around the door, gathering a second round of strange looks, but Ai wasn't going to give up on his friends' potential future relationship. Ten minutes into their plan, Ai was getting worried. There wasn't a peep to be heard from inside, but then again, the room was supposedly soundproof. He had half a mind to wrench the door open to see what was going on when suddenly, there was a loud thud against the door.

Jolting in shock, Ai flinched backwards. What was that all about? Were they fighting? But he hadn't heard any yelling coming from inside. Then, there was a soft 'click' of the lock. He could hear their voices now, much clearer now that they were right next to the door.

"...Ren." That name was all Ai could hear, but the way that Masato said it was odd, as if he was out of breath. But then Ai remembered that Masato only ever called him as 'Jinguji'. There was the sound of a few scuffles, before Masato's breathing was cut off abruptly, muffled. Syo heard it too, his eyes wide before yanking Ai away from the door, further down into the corridor, away from the room.

"I think they're all right now," Syo said, laughing nervously. He let go of Ai's hand hurriedly when he realised that he held on a little too long.

Ai frowned. "I'm worried for Masato. He doesn't seem to be all right in there."

"No, no, I'm sure it's all fine!" The way that he seemed to be insisting that everything was fine was strange. Was there something that Syo wasn't telling him? "You know what happens when you lock two people together in a room? With that much UST?"

"UST?"

"It's... You know what, never mind. It's not something that you need to know." Ai pursed his lips together, keeping a side note to look it up later. But if Syo said that it was fine, then he supposed it was. He knew the two better after all, since they were in STARISH together.

As they returned back to their respective groups, Ai realised that he didn't get any research done from the two. He only had the experimental hypothesis of locking them in an enclosed space together, but not really any solid results after. The only thing that came from this was more questions. What went on inside the room? Did they talk their feelings out? Was their relationship settled now? Was it all resolved?

...Why had Syo's hand been so warm in his?

The last one was a curious afterthought. Where did it come from? He felt his chest, the strange sensation that he could almost describe as...fluttery.

Reiji was waving a hand in his face. "What's wrong, Ai-Ai? What'cha thinking about?"

"Reiji, what does UST stand for?"

Camus promptly choked on the tea he was drinking.


End file.
